What Time Do Your Kids Go to Bed in the Summer? What Time Do They Wake Up?

Updated on June 05, 2013
E.M. asks from Chicago, IL
14 answers

My son just turned 6 and my daughter just turned 4. We start our bedtime routine around 7:30 during the school year. Jammies, brush teeth, story... Sometimes earlier if they are particularly tired. Neither kid takes naps.

Just curious how I should adjust this for summer.

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

Featured Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

T.S.

answers from Washington DC on

For the school year, bed is 8pm.

It stays light so late in summer that I have to push bedtime back for DS just for common sense sake. It's beautiful and bright out and it cools off a bit in the evenings making after dinner a great time for a walk to the park of a bike around the neighborhood, that pushes bath and bed back to at least 9:30 and bed around 10:00.

1 mom found this helpful

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.D.

answers from Colorado Springs on

We homeshool so summer - school, it doesn't really matter to us :-) Actually though, we tend to stay on the earlier side. Our 3 & 5 yr olds go down between 8:30 & 9 while our 7 yr old is 9 or 9:30. They get up anywhere from 6:45 (the 3 yr old) to 10 (the 5 yr old). The littlest one still takes at least a 2 hr nap most D. & if our 5 yr old is tired she will too - she's our sleeper :-)
Of course special things garner later bedtimes- fireworks, drive-in, s'mores...

2 moms found this helpful

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

My kids are 10 & 13 - their bedtime is 930PM during the school year and my 13 year old wakes up to his alarm clock at 0630 and my 10 year old at 710.

During the summer - we usually let them stay up to 11PM or midnight. My 10 year old would sleep until noon if we let him. My 13 year old might sleep until 9AM.

When they have activities - like a summer camp - their bedtime is much like the school year.

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.G.

answers from Houston on

School: 6-6:30am/8ish pm no naps

Summer: 6am/9ish pm no naps

2 moms found this helpful

S.G.

answers from Grand Forks on

My kids are 7 and 10. They go to bed at 10:00pm and get up at 8:00am. They don't have to be at school until 9:00am. They keep to about the same schedule year round. We are flexible about it, so they stay up later for special events like fireworks, camp fires, ball games, parties etc. They have had this schedule from about the age of 3. Just go by what time they need to get up in the morning and how much sleep they need. My kids are good with the 10 hours they get, but if they had to wake up earlier they might need an earlier bedtime. If they do not need to get up in the morning I would let them stay up a couple of hours later. There is too much fun to be had in the evening in the summer time to go to bed at 7:30pm!

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

During the school year the kids go to bed at 9:00pm on most nights. They go right to bed and to sleep for the most. Occasionally my ADHD grandson will be up until 2am or 3am but for the most part they go right to bed and to sleep. They got up at 7am. So they got 10 hours of sleep.

In the summer they stay up later, last night they stayed up until 11 or midnight. Their mom was visiting and they stayed up watching movies and eating popcorn to the wee hours.

It's not even dark by 9:30pm in a lot of places so I think it's silly to put kids to bed during the daylight hours.

My grandson is almost always up by 8am but this morning he slept until 9:15am.

My granddaughter will sleep 14 hours if I let her so I don't wake her up in the summer unless we have classes she needs to go to.

1 mom found this helpful

R.R.

answers from Houston on

I would allow my son to stay up as late as he like. He would then sleep late into the day and I could get chores done. I was easy going as he had to awaken early during the school year to go to school witih me--I taught many years at his schools and had to be there early.

Sundays, he would sleep through church and I would constantly nudge him to awaken.

The night before the first day of school, I would send him to bed at 9.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.T.

answers from Albuquerque on

My six year olds have lights out at 7 during the school year. They get up at 6. During the summer lights out is 7:30 and they're up by 6:30. So we really don't adjust much... still 11 hours of sleep (no naps). I do adjust for late activities, but there really aren't that many.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.M.

answers from St. Louis on

My daughter will be 6 in August and my son will be 4 in August. During the school year, we start bedtime routine around 7pm and my son goes down around 730. Daughter can read for a bit longer and goes down by 8. She is up by 6am during the school year and his preschool isn't until the afternoon and dad is home with him Mon-Thurs so he usually sleeps close to 12 hours.

In the summer, 730-8 for our son and 8-845 for our daughter. They are both up between 630-7 no matter what time we put them to bed. Occasionally on the weekends they will crawl into bed with me (hubby works weekends) and we'll sleep until 730-745ish.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.G.

answers from Lakeland on

Son 13
Wake time: 7 am
bedtime: 10 pm
It stays the same in the summer.
If not i end up with a olger,angry,lazy teenager.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.P.

answers from Miami on

My children are 5 and 1. We do our bedtime routine at 7:30 for the baby and closer to 8 for my son. They wake up around 6:45 (no matter what time they go to bed). In the summers, we try to stick to the same schedule, but are much less strict about it. If we're doing something or going somewhere, they fall asleep whenever we get home. If we're home and it's just a "regular night", then off to bed at their "regular time".

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.N.

answers from Chicago on

My 6 year old goes tobed at 8-8:30 school year and about 8:30-9 summertime. Our problem is that the 3 days I work he has to get up at 7 a.m just like for school. So we don't vary it too much cuz he needs his 10-11 hours sleep.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

B.B.

answers from San Antonio on

Kids are 3 and 5.

School Year:
Wake up: 6:15 AM
Bedtime: 8 PM
No Naps

Summer:
Wake up: 7-ish AM (sometimes later if I am lucky)
Bedtime: 9 PM
No Naps

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

N.P.

answers from Chicago on

unless they can sleep in then keep their bedtime the same, the amount of sleep they need will increase slightly due to more outside and running time.

If they are able to sleep in then you can play it by ear. At that age they should be getting 12 hours of a sleep a night, the 4 yr old should get 13 -14 total in a 24 hour period, the 6 yr old 11 - 13 hours per24 hour period.

My girls were not able to sleep in until they were 10 and 13 yrs old, so no matter what time I put them to bed they got up at 7 at the latest and were crabby. Just last summer they actually slept in if they went to bed late and so we laxed up a lot.

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions